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Technology5
''' TECHNOLOGY' This article is about the use and knowledge of techniques and processes for producing goods and services. For other uses, see Technology (disambiguation). '''Technology' ("science of craft", from Greek τέχνη, techne, "art, skill, cunning of hand"; and -λογία, -logia[1]) is the collection of techniques, skills, methods, and processes used in the production of goods or services or in the accomplishment of objectives, such as scientific investigation. Technology can be the knowledge of techniques, processes, and the like, or it can be embedded in machines to allow for operation without detailed knowledge of their workings. The simplest form of technology is the development and use of basic tools. The prehistoric discovery of how to control fire and the later Neolithic Revolution increased the available sources of food, and the invention of the wheel helped humans to travel in and control their environment. Developments in historic times, including the printing press, the telephone, and the Internet, have lessened physical barriers to communication and allowed humans to interact freely on a global scale. 'Definition and usage' The use of the term "technology" has changed significantly over the last 200 years. Before the 20th century, the term was uncommon in English, and it was used either to refer to the description or study of the useful arts[2] or to allude to technical education, as in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (chartered in 1861).[3] The term "technology" rose to prominence in the 20th century in connection with the Second Industrial Revolution. The term's meanings changed in the early 20th century when American social scientists, beginning with Thorstein Veblen, translated ideas from the German concept of Technik into "technology." In German and other European languages, a distinction exists between technik and technologie that is absent in English, which usually translates both terms as "technology." By the 1930s, "technology" referred not only to the study of the industrial arts but to the industrial arts themselves.[4] 'Science, engineering and technology' The distinction between science, engineering, and technology is not always clear. Science is systematic knowledge of the physical or material world gained through observation and experimentation.[5] Technologies are not usually exclusively products of science, because they have to satisfy requirements such as utility, usability, and safety.[citation needed] Engineering is the goal-oriented process of designing and making tools and systems to exploit natural phenomena for practical human means, often (but not always) using results and techniques from science. The development of technology may draw upon many fields of knowledge, including scientific, engineering, mathematical, linguistic, and historical knowledge, to achieve some practical result. 'History' Main articles: History of technology, Timeline of historic inventions, and Timeline of electrical and electronic engineering 'Paleolithic (2.5 Ma – 10 ka)' Further information: Outline of prehistoric technology The use of tools by early humans was partly a process of discovery and of evolution. Early humans evolved from a species of foraginghominids which were already bipedal,[6] with a brain mass approximately one third of modern humans.[7] Tool use remained relatively unchanged for most of early human history. Approximately 50,000 years ago, the use of tools and complex set of behaviors emerged, believed by many archaeologists to be connected to the emergence of fully modern language.[8] 'Stone tools' Hominids started using primitive stone tools millions of years ago. The earliest stone tools were little more than a fractured rock, but approximately 75,000 years ago,[9] pressure flaking provided a way to make much finer work. 'Fire' Main article: Control of fire by early humans The discovery and utilization of fire, a simple energy source with many profound uses, was a turning point in the technological evolution of humankind.[10] The exact date of its discovery is not known; evidence of burnt animal bones at the Cradle of Humankind suggests that the domestication of fire occurred before 1 Ma;[11] scholarly consensus indicates that Homo erectus had controlled fire by between 500 and 400 ka.[12][13] Fire, fueled with wood and charcoal, allowed early humans to cook their food to increase its digestibility, improving its nutrient value and broadening the number of foods that could be eaten.[14] 'Neolithic through classical antiquity (10 ka – 300 CE)' ' '''Human's technological ascent began in earnest in what is known as the Neolithic Period ("New Stone Age"). The invention of polished stone axeswas a major advance that allowed forest clearance on a large scale to create farms. This use of polished stone axes increased greatly in the Neolithic, but were originally used in the preceding Mesolithic in some areas such as Ireland.[15] Agriculture fed larger populations, and the transition to sedentism allowed simultaneously raising more children, as infants no longer needed to be carried, as nomadic ones must. Additionally, children could contribute labor to the raising of crops more readily than they could to the hunter-gatherer economy.[16][17] 'Philosophy' 'Technicism' Generally, technicism is the belief in the utility of technology for improving human societies.[18] Taken to an extreme, technicism "reflects a fundamental attitude which seeks to control reality, to resolve all problems with the use of scientific–technological methods and tools."[19] In other words, human beings will someday be able to master all problems and possibly even control the future using technology. Some, such as Stephen V. Monsma,[20] connect these ideas to the abdication of religion as a higher moral authority. 'Optimism' See also: Extropianism Optimistic assumptions are made by proponents of ideologies such as transhumanism and singularitarianism, which view technological development as generally having beneficial effects for the society and the human condition. In these ideologies, technological development is morally good. Transhumanists generally believe that the point of technology is to overcome barriers, and that what we commonly refer to as the human condition is just another barrier to be surpassed. 'Competitiveness' Technology is properly defined as any application of science to accomplish a function. The science can be leading edge or well established and the function can have high visibility or be significantly more mundane, but it is all technology, and its exploitation is the foundation of all competitive advantage. Technology-based planning is what was used to build the US industrial giants before WWII (e.g., Dow, DuPont, GM) and it is what was used to transform the US into a superpower. It was not economic-based planning. 'Other animal species' See also: Tool use by animals, Structures built by animals, and Ecosystem engineer The use of basic technology is also a feature of other animal species apart from humans. These include primates such as chimpanzees,[21]some dolphin communities,[22] and crows.[23][24] Considering a more generic perspective of technology as ethology of active environmental conditioning and control, we can also refer to animal examples such as beavers and their dams, or bees and their honeycombs. The ability to make and use tools was once considered a defining characteristic of the genus Homo.[25] However, the discovery of tool construction among chimpanzees and related primates has discarded the notion of the use of technology as unique to humans. For example, researchers have observed wild chimpanzees utilising tools for foraging: some of the tools used include leaf sponges, termite fishing probes, pestles and levers.[26] West African chimpanzees also use stone hammers and anvils for cracking nuts,[26] as do capuchin monkeys of Boa Vista, Brazil.[27] 'Future technology' Main article: Emerging technologies Theories of technology often attempt to predict the future of technology based on the high technology and science of the time. As with all predictions of the future, however, technology's is uncertain. 'See also' Main article: Outline of technology *Architectural technology *Critique of technology *Greatest Engineering Achievements of the 20th Century *History of science and technology *Knowledge economy *Law of the instrument – Golden hammer ;'Theories and concepts in technology''' *Appropriate technology *Diffusion of innovations *Human enhancement *Instrumental conception of technology *Jacques Ellul ;Technology journalism *''Engadget'' *''TechCrunch'' *''The Verge'' *[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wired_(magazine) Wired (magazine)] 'References' #'^' Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert (1980). A Greek-English Lexicon (Abridged Edition). United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-019910207. # Crabb, George (1823). Universal Technological Dictionary, or Familiar Explanation of the Terms Used in All Arts and Sciences. London: Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy. p. 524 – via Internet Archive. # Mannix, Loretta H.; Stratton, Julius Adams (2005). Mind and Hand: The Birth of MIT. Cambridge: MIT Press. pp. 190–92. ISBN 978-0262195249. #"Technik Comes to America: Changing Meanings of Technology Before 1930". Technology and Culture. 47. # "Science". Dictionary.com. 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016. #"Mother of man – 3.2 million years ago". BBC. Retrieved 17 May 2008. #"Human Evolution". History Channel. Archived from the original on 23 April 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2008. #Wade, Nicholas (15 July 2003). "Early Voices: The Leap to Language". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 November 2016. #Bower, Bruce (29 October 2010). "Stone Agers Sharpened Skills 55,000 Years Earlier Than Thought". WIRED. Retrieved 7 November 2016. #Crump, Thomas (2001). A Brief History of Science. Constable & Robinson. p. 9. ISBN 978-1841192352. #'^' "Fossil Hominid Sites of Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, Kromdraai, and Environs". UNESCO. Retrieved 10 March 2007. #'^' "Stone Age Man". History World. Retrieved 13 February 2007. #'^' James, Steven R. (February 1989). "Hominid Use of Fire in the Lower and Middle Pleistocene". Current Anthropology. 30 (1): 1–26. doi:10.1086/203705. JSTOR 2743299. (Subscription required (help)). #'^' Stahl, Ann B. (1984). "Hominid dietary selection before fire". Current Anthropology. 25 (2): 151–68. doi:10.1086/203106. JSTOR 2742818. (Subscription required (help)). #Driscoll, Killian (2006). [http://lithicsireland.ie/mlitt_mesolithic_west_ireland_chap_2.html The early prehistory in the west of Ireland: Investigations into the social archaeology of the Mesolithic, west of the Shannon, Ireland]. #'^' University of Chicago Press Journals (4 January 2006). "The First Baby Boom: Skeletal Evidence Shows Abrupt Worldwide Increase In Birth Rate During Neolithic Period". ScienceDaily. Retrieved 7 November 2016. #'^' Sussman, Robert W.; Hall, Roberta L. (April 1972). "Child Transport, Family Size, and Increase in Human Population During the Neolithic". Current Anthropology. 13 (2): 258–67. doi:10.1086/201274. JSTOR 2740977. # Breslin, Gerry, ed. (2011). "technicism". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0007437863. #'^' "Philosophical and Ethical Problems of Technicism and Genetic Engineering". Society for Philosophy and Technology. 3'''. #^' Monsma, Stephen V. (1986). ''Responsible Technology. Grand Rapids: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co. ISBN 978-0802801753 # Sagan, Carl; Druyan, Ann; Leakey, Richard. "Chimpanzee Tool Use". Archived from the original on 21 September 2006. Retrieved 13 February 2007. #'^' Rincon, Paul (7 June 2005). "Sponging dolphins learn from mum". BBC News. Retrieved 11 November 2016. #'^' Schmid, Randolph E. (4 October 2007). "Crows use tools to find food". NBC News. Retrieved 11 November 2016. #'^' Rutz, C.; Bluff, L.A.; Weir, A.A.S.; Kacelnik, A. (4 October 2007). "Video cameras on wild birds". Science. 318 (5851): 765. Bibcode:2007Sci...318..765R. doi:10.1126/science.1146788. PMID 17916693. # Oakley, K. P. (1976). Man the Tool-Maker. Nature. 199. pp. 1042–43. Bibcode:1963Natur.199U1042.. doi:10.1038/1991042e0. ISBN 978-0226612706. #'^' McGrew, W. C (1992). Chimpanzee Material Culture. Cambridge u.a.: Cambridge Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0521423717. #'^' Boesch, Christophe; Boesch, Hedwige (1984). "Mental map in wild chimpanzees: An analysis of hammer transports for nut cracking". Primates. 25 (2): 160–70. doi:10.1007/BF02382388. #'^' Brahic, Catherine (15 January 2009). "Nut-cracking monkeys find the right tool for the job". New Scientist. Retrieved 11 November 2016. 'Further reading' *Ambrose, Stanley H. (2 March 2001). "Paleolithic Technology and Human Evolution" (PDF). Science. 291 (5509): 1748–53. Bibcode:2001Sci...291.1748A. doi:10.1126/science.1059487. PMID 11249821. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2007. Retrieved 10 March 2007. *Huesemann, M.H., and J.A. Huesemann (2011). [http://www.newtechnologyandsociety.org/ Technofix: Why Technology Won’t Save Us or the Environment], New Society Publishers, ISBN 0865717044. *Kremer, Michael (1993). "Population Growth and Technological Change: One Million B.C. to 1990". Quarterly Journal of Economics. 108(3): 681–716. doi:10.2307/2118405. JSTOR 2118405.. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers Contact Wikipedia Developers Cookie statement Mobile view Category:Technology System